Ranger Suárez, SP
Position: SP B/T: L/L
Player Data: Age: 30 (08/26/1995)
2025 Traditional Stats: 26 G, 157 1/3 IP, 3.20 ERA, 1.220 WHIP, 12-8, 151 K, 38 BB
2025 Advanced Stats: 137 ERA+, 23.2% K%, 5.8% BB%, 3.15 xERA, 3.21 FIP, 3.61 xFIP, 4.0 fWAR, 4.7 bWAR
Rundown
Ranger Suárez has been in the Phillies organization ever since he signed with them as an international free agent when he was 16 years old in 2012. He began his major league career mostly as a reliever, but transitioned to being a starter during his spectacular 2021 season. While he hasn’t quite reached the heights of his breakout season, Suárez has remained a steady contributor for the Phillies during their contention window.
In 2025, Suárez began the season on the injured list, but then he had his best season since becoming a full-time starter. He set career-best marks in strikeouts, ERA, ERA+, xERA, FIP, strikeout rate, walk rate, and fWAR. While he didn’t qualify for the ERA title, Suárez threw a career-high 157 1/3 innings, averaging over six innings per start. Suárez was strong in his lone outing of the postseason, too, tossing five innings of one-run ball and earning the win in Game 3 of the NLDS.
Suárez is far from a flamethrower – he averages a touch over 90 miles per hour on his fastball. However, he excels at generating weak contact, allowing an average exit velocity of just 86.5 mph (95th percentile in the majors) and a hard-hit of 31.1% (98th percentile). While his opponents’ batting average increased from .243 to .256, their BABiP jumped from .302 to .318 while their xBA dropped from .250 to .233.
Suárez uses a six-pitch mix – throwing a sinker, four-seamer, change-up, curveball, and cutter at least 14% of the time, while also occasionally mixing in a slider. His curveball and change-up graded as his best pitches – registering run values of plus-7 and plus-6, respectively. The curveball recorded a hard-hit rate of just 17.8% and an xSLG of .229, while the change-up had a whiff rate of 33% and a 22.5% hard-hit rate.
One knock against Suárez is that his performance appeared to weaken as the season progressed. He had a 1.99 ERA following his outing on July 5, but posted a pedestrian 4.37 mark through the rest of the season. However, his opponents had a .364 BABIP during that stretch, and he had a 3.38 FIP, suggesting he got rather unlucky. Perhaps this was just a reversal of fortunes from his early-season success – through July 5, Suárez had an opponents’ BABIP of .263 and an 86.6% strand rate, but that pristine strand rate dropped to 74% the rest of the season. Still, his overall strand rate of 79% represents the best mark of his career.
Contract
Suárez will command a hefty contract, as most pitchers do in free agency. He leads a pitching free agent class headlined by Framber Valdez and Michael King this offseason. Sean Manaea earned a three-year $75 million contract after the 2024 season, and he had a bit less of a track record than Suárez does currently. Suárez might not get an eight-year deal like fellow lefty Max Fried, but it’s reasonable to expect him to net a contract worth nine figures and an annual salary over $25 million. Spotrac projects that Suárez will receive a six-year contract worth $161 million.
Recommendation: Try to Sign
After the 2019 season, the Mets saw Zack Wheeler sign with the Phillies. Now, the Mets have a chance to enact some revenge. Suárez would fit in well at the front of the rotation alongside Nolan McLean and take some of the pressure off the budding ace who’s entering his first full season in the majors. The Mets struggled badly to get length from their starting pitchers in 2025 – McLean was the only starter to average six innings per outing, and he only made eight starts. Suárez would have ranked third on the team in innings pitched despite missing the first month of the season. Suárez also has an excellent postseason track record, owning a sparkling 1.48 ERA in 42 2/3 playoff innings. Not only would the Mets be poaching a player from a division rival, but they would be adding a player who could make a huge impact in an area of need.
